Checkpoint for Wednesday 13 October 2010

6:54 PM.MPs have been told that the independence and integrity of the National Library and Archives New Zealand will be at risk when they are absorbed into a Government department. Audio

6:50 PM.Scientists are looking beneath their feet, the sea, even the south stand at Eden Park to increase their knowledge about volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Audio

6:46 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

6:43 PM.Auckland's mayor-elect Len Brown says the new deputy mayor will have a strong leadership role on the council, with the power to attend all council committee meetings and report back to him. Audio

6:41 PM.South Island mayors are planning to form a lobby group so the South Island doesn't lose out to the economic demands of the Auckland super city. Audio

6:35 PM.In Thailand, the government has issued a warning that Bangkok is likely to stay under threat of bomb attacks until next month at least. Audio

6:31 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:23 PM.The Waikato horse breeder accused of killing his wife has started to give evidence on his own behalf in the High Court in Hamilton. Audio

6:19 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:17 PM.The Prime Minister says it's inevitable that police will move towards being more regularly armed. Audio

6:11 PM.Health officials and some young people say they are seeing a resurgence in the use of the hallucinogenic drug, LSD. Audio

6:09 PM.Wellington has a new mayor for the first time in almost a decade. Audio

5:53 PM.Scientists have discovered that Auckland has been hit by twice as many volcanic eruptions than previously thought. Audio

5:50 PM.The Labour Party has accused the National-led Government of wasting taxpayers' money by rejecting bids to take over the failed South Canterbury Finance. Audio

5:47 PM.Power has been cut and around twenty families evacuated because of heavy rain and flooding on the Poverty Bay flats. Audio

5:44 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

5:39 PM.The Government is to guarantee free access to the foreshore and seabed by amending new legislation to prohibit fees being charged for access to coastal areas. Audio

5:35 PM.On the rescue operation to free the 33 miners trapped in a Chilean mine for 69 days, so far two of the miners have been lifted 622 metres to the surface in a capsule through a specially dug tunnel. Audio

5:32 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:26 PM.Thousands of Auckland patients will have long waits for test results next week because of more strike action by lab workers. Audio

5:23 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:17 PM.Canterbury was rocked by another significant aftershock a short while ago. Audio

5:13 PM.In what's believed to the the closest mayoral race Wellington has ever seen, Celia Wade-Brown hs beaten incumbent Kerry Prendergast by just 176 votes. Audio

5:07 PM.33 trapped miners are being rescued using a capsule, the first of which took around a quarter of an hour to lift him 622 metres to the surface. Audio

5:00 PM.New mayor for Wellington, Another aftershock rocks Canterbury, LSD use on the rise, Doctor name suppression criticised, Prime Minister says moves to arm police inevitable, Auckland patients face waits… Read more Audio